Various modular building concepts have been explored in an attempt to reduce the time and labor required to construct buildings, and thus, to reduce the costs associated with such construction. However, most of these attempts have simply been attempts to prefabricate building components at fabricating facilities using conventional construction methods, contemplating transporting the components to the construction site for assembly. Whereas on-site construction time may be reduced by such methods, conventionally constructed components are susceptible to damage upon transporting and, at best, the end result is a conventionally constructed structure with no improvements to energy efficiency.
Certain attempts have been made to produce prefabricated components which are structurally sound enough for transporting and which produce increase energy efficiency in the resulting structure. One example is the prefabricated wall panel disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,768, issued to J. Boden on Oct. 18, 1983. However, the Boden patent does not provide for the mounting of conventional windows and doors or provide other features which allow the incorporation of the panels into usable energy efficient buildings. Other attempts at prefabricated construction are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,426,818; 4,426,060; 4,236,361; 4,138,833; 3,315,424;[4,314,430; 4,467,859; 4,1.47,004; 4,385,470; 4,185,437; 3,736,715; and 3,310,917.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved modular building which comprises components which can readily be fabricated in a fabricating facility and transported to a building site for assembly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an energy efficient modular building requiring little on-site labor.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved modular building constructed of components which are inexpensive to manufacture.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for fabricating improved modular building components for constructing an energy efficient building.